Chester Calls Special Meeting to Discuss Response to Park Board Report
Chester Township Trustees have until Oct. 10 to respond to a report commissioned by Geauga County Probate Court Judge Tim Grendell about their ongoing contentious…
Chester Township Trustees have until Oct. 10 to respond to a report commissioned by Geauga County Probate Court Judge Tim Grendell about their ongoing contentious relationship with the Chester Township Park Board.
Thursday night, they decided to discuss their options one more time at a special meeting before the deadline.
One trustee said he didn’t think trustees should respond at all.
On Aug. 25, former 11th District Court of Appeals Judge Mary Jane Trapp presented her findings to Grendell during a court proceeding held at the Chester Township Fire Department.
Grendell had appointed her to serve as a master commissioner to investigate ongoing problems between the Chester park board and township trustees.
Trapp found that the park board, a volunteer group, had made great improvements to Parkside Park, but needed to make some changes to its organizational procedures. The boards needed to improve communications with each other and work together to repair their relationship, her report concluded.
Grendell gave the boards 45 days to respond to the report and urged them to “play nice in the sandbox.”
At their Sept. 18 meeting, Trustee Ken Radtke proposed holding a joint meeting with the park board “so we can get rid of all the cobwebs.”
Trustee Mike Petruziello said he was not inclined to respond to the report, but would “put out the olive branch” if the others wanted to do so.
At that meeting, trustees heard from two residents who are frequent critics of the park board. They called the park board a “dog and pony show,” which mocks trustees by meeting on the same night they hold their meetings.
Thursday night, Radtke began the trustees meeting by apologizing for allowing the residents to make their comments on Sept. 18.
“They were out of line and I should have stopped the residents sooner,” Radtke said. “The discussion needs to be less personal, so I will take no comments this evening in regard to the comments made at the last meeting.”
Later, during a discussion about a list of expenditures the park board had submitted just before the Sept. 18 meeting, Petruziello said, “We sent a letter (to the park board) requesting a meeting and we were told we can’t have a meeting.”
He did not elaborate on who had told them not to meet.
Friday, park board member Joe Weiss said Grendell had sent a letter to both boards telling them not to meet together until they had responded to Trapp’s report.
Radtke asked whether the invoice had already been paid out of other money the trustees had given the board.
“It’s this money necessary?” Radtke asked. “We’re here to facilitate that discussion with the park board.”
“If you’re not allowed to have a meeting, how are you going to meet (with them)?” former Trustee Pat Mula asked.
Trustee Bud Kinney said the boards will meet after Oct. 10.
Near the end of the meeting, Radtke added, “We have until Oct. 8 to forward any comments (about the master commissioner’s report to the judge). Maybe we should consider consolidating our questions.”
Radtke proposed holding a special meeting on Monday to discuss how trustees should respond to Grendell’s order.
“We may choose not to respond to the report; we may or we may not,” Petruziello said. “It’s about the park board.”
Trustees unanimously set the special meeting for 7 p.m. Oct. 6.
“If the park board is interested in coming, they can come,” Petruziello said.
